Day 7 – Westmoreland (White House & Belmont)
Anderson was up early and made pancakes, which Sisters Medley and Richardson were grateful for because they said pancakes were “American” food and they weren’t sure how to make it. Breakfast was delicious, and Brother Richardson once again cut jellies for us to drink. We said a bittersweet goodbye to the Richardsons and loaded up.
A couple of things we had to deal with. First, Svenson was feeling unwell and had a rough night. And second, we had to once again go to the Tyre Warehouse to replace a tire. We formulated a plan, and they dropped Bulkley and me off at the Tyre Warehouse before it opened so we could be first in line. Johnson drove the rest of the group to the store to buy water for the day. By the time they returned, Elton was taking care of the tire, and there was a man selling fresh juice from his trunk, so of course we loaded up on that. I bought Elton a juice for helping us out twice, and the juice man gave me a free one for coming to help with hurricane relief.
On our way out of Mandeville, we stopped and took a picture at 4 Grove Road, Elder Kevin G. Brown’s sacred grove, and texted it to him. Then we found my nemesis, pothole, and got a picture of the dastardly tire killer, before heading down Spur Tree Hill. Oh, and this time was epic. We were stuck in a long line of cars and trucks, and up ahead we could see a Jamaican Defense Force vehicle with soldiers in full tactical gear and one man standing and manning the gun. I, of course, took the first opportunity to pass, and that inspired them to press on and pass me. They were blaring their horn, and behind them was a black vehicle with a Canadian flag. Well, we had two Canadians with us, so I figured that was the green light to join the delegation, and we got our very own military escort. Oh, what fun we had on the road.
The drive to White House was supposed to take about two hours…we made it in less than that.
President & Sister Smith, from Sav, met us in White House at Barbara’s home. Barbara is a member from Birmingham in the UK with a beautiful home in White House. We met Brother Witter there as well, and he and President Smith would take us on to Belmont for the day.
In Belmont, we saw the worst of the damage. Entire communities were leveled by Hurricane Melissa. Piles of wood, trash, household goods, clothes, and rotting food lay atop concrete slabs that used to be houses. We climbed up a hill to the place where Brother Witter’s mother’s home used to be. It was the first time we didn’t know what to do. The decimation was so vast and so complete that it felt paralyzing. After taking several minutes to survey the scene and take it all in, we got to work.
It was decided to make a few piles, salvage, possible salvage, and burn. We sifted through the wreckage of their homes and pulled out wood and zinc that might be reused, and household items that weren’t ruined and piled the rest by the remains of a once mighty tree to be burned.
Once the fire got roaring, it was difficult to approach it or even stand near it, so we started flinging things from far off. The smoke and the fumes were stifling, so I went back down the hill to get some masks. The rain started coming down pretty hard, and we just kept right on working. We were already soaking wet from sweating through a hot and humid morning, combined with our raging trash bonfire (mattresses, even wet ones, burn hot), so the cloud cover and the rain were a soothing relief.
Johnson had met a few of the neighbors, Nikesha, Teresa, and Dickie, who hadn’t lost their homes, and though they didn’t have anything really, they didn’t ask for anything, and they were smiling and happy to visit with him. He, Anderson, and I returned to their house and offered them solar lights and a water filter. Johnson showed them how to use it, and we got several other requests from the rest of the community for lights and filters. That was the case everywhere we went. Once the van was open and something was given, there were always others asking for what we could leave with them. Bulkley was at the van also dispensing water filters and lights.
After handing out supplies, we saw that President Smith, Brother Witter, and Brother Edwards were at it again, so we trudged up the hill again and finished clearing the concrete slab, including tipping a giant stump off the patio. We met Hopie and got to know her story and experience with the hurricane. She had also lost her home and was staying with her employer.
On that clear concrete slab next to a fire of all her worldly possessions, we gave Hopie a priesthood blessing. She praised God and was smiling following the blessing. I observed her and questioned whether I had that sort of faith and resolved.
Further up and over the hill, we found another community tucked back away and hard hit as well. Dozens of downed trees blocked footpaths and entryways. The chainsaws came back out, and we went to work on clearing trees, stumps, and debris. I spoke with a woman who told me they had no power or clean water. I hiked back down to the van to get the rest of our supplies. Svenson, who was still feeling unwell, was taking a rest, and Barbara, Sister Smith, and Sister Medley arrived with lunch. I told them I was taking our supplies up to where they were needed, and they all wanted to come. I warned them the climb was steep, and the people were further than they thought, but they insisted on coming. So we took all we could carry and hiked back up the hill. Oh, and we saw a random peacock. We handed out everything we had left in that bag in a matter of minutes and still left several people wanting. That was the difficult thing to give all you have, and it still not cover everyone.
A man had begged gloves from Anderson early in the day, and he returned to ask if we could use the chainsaw to cut up a fallen tree for him. The blades of the chainsaw were dull by now, but Anderson agreed, and Johnson and I followed him deeper still into the breach. This was a massive tree and would have taken all day to cut up, even with a good chainsaw, and the sun was getting real low. Johnson and Anderson made short work of several of the larger branches, and then we called it.
Elder Medley and five missionaries from Kingston were coming up, so we waited for them by the van and ate our lunch, that now we really more like dinner. They arrived, and we made arrangements to meet in Savannah la Mar in the morning. Then we loaded up and drove to Negril.
Once again, we found ourselves driving in the dark after the sun dipped beneath the ocean horizon while we made our way west. We stayed at the Hotel Samsara, which was nicer than anticipated. After settling into our rooms and showering the muck of the day off of us, we gathered on the deck by the ocean and had our daily reflection. The testimonies shared were sweet, and the bonds of love were strong. While our hearts were still back in Belmont, our minds turned to the weeks and months ahead and the great needs we had seen. We started making plans for getting greater numbers and engaging our families and our brothers and sisters who served with us so many years ago. Our most prominent desires were to help Jamaica and share these experiences and these feelings with those we care about.